Azerbaijan Diary: A Rogue Reporter's Adventures in an Oil-rich, War-torn, Post-Soviet Republic

by Thomas Goltz

Overview

In its first years as an independent state, Azerbaijan was a prime example of post-Soviet chaos - beset by coups and civil strife and astride an ethnic, political and religious divide. Author Goltz was detoured in Baku in mid-1991 and decided to stay, this diary is the record of his experiences.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780765602442
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	08/31/1999
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	560
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x (d)

About the Author

Thomas Goltz

Table of Contents

Preface, Acknowledgments and Special Thanks, Prologue, 1. Getting There Fair and Square, 2. A Distant Coup, 3. Friday Evening on Freedom Square, 4. Karabakh: The Black Garden, 5. Home Sweet Baku, 6. A Reborn Republic, 7. Xodjali, 8. Slithering in the Swamp, 9. Of Militias and Mamed the Mule, 10. A Diversion Through the Islamic Republic of Iran, 11. Riding the Roller Coaster, 12. Coup Redux, 13. From Ballots to Bullets, 14. An Army Stumbles Forward, 15. Alla Turca, 16. Of War-and Oil, 17. Corruption in the Ranks, 18. Rumblings of Dissent, 19. The Snow Job, 20. Kelbajar, 21. The Lull Before the Storm, 22. The Crowbar-Or Heydar Comes Home, 23. Meanwhile, Back at the Front..., 24. Azerbaijan, Azerbaijan..., 25. Scars on the Soul, Epilogue, Index

Editorial Reviews

Goltz's account of six years as a freelance journalist in a volatile region where oil men, spies, Islamic militants, mercenaries and corrupt politicians jockey for power reads like a combination of John le Carre and Hunter S. Thompson.

New York Times Book Review

Goltz himself suggests that nonspecialist readers ignore the funny names and approach his tale as a pure adventure story from a faraway land. Take his advice and read this book. -- Brill's Content

Debra Goldman

The author, a journalist who covered the region in the early 1990s, relates the events that he saw in a style he refers to as "history as contact journalism." He covers the coups, the civil uprisings, the lost Karabakh war of secession, the occupation of part of Azerbaijan by Armenian troops, and the internal ethnic, religious, and political struggles that have plagued the country since independence. No references. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.

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